


The Silver Lining is in the Stuffed Animal

by PUNK_MENACE



Series: holding hands while the walls come tumbling down [1]
Category: Graceland (TV)
Genre: Blood, Caretaking, Episode Tag, Episode: s01ep10 King's Castle, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hospitals, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, King's Castle, Painkillers, Season/Series 01, Stitches, Team as Family, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 16:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21580951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PUNK_MENACE/pseuds/PUNK_MENACE
Summary: When Bello spots him and attacks him in prison, Mike is a little worse for wear. With his stitches pulled out, Charlie takes him to the hospital before they go back to Graceland. Mike, in all his painkiller-induced loopiness, is adorable. The Graceland family takes advantage of the situation to get some blackmail.
Relationships: Charlie DeMarco & Mike Warren
Series: holding hands while the walls come tumbling down [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555330
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72





	The Silver Lining is in the Stuffed Animal

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I just want Mike to get the love he deserves and for everything to be sunshine and rainbows so here you go!!

Even though Mike had gotten stabbed, things were still salvageable. The only damn reason he’s in prison, surrounded by people that would kill and eat him at the first whiff of him being a fed, is because of the tiny sliver of hope that they can still nail Odin.

His side is killing him. The last place he wants to be is in a prison, but he’ll do this for the case and especially for Charlie. He’s thankful when she comes to visit him because a friendly face will do wonders for his nerves.

And then he sees Bello – and, more importantly, Bello sees him.

Mike definitely isn’t fast enough to move out of the man’s tackle. He and Bello go down hard, already jarring his wound, and then Bello is driving his fist into his side as hard as he can. Mike screams and tries to push against him but he can feel his stitches being pulled out. The wound opens and it’s like the maw of a beast opening only to clamp back down, sharp teeth sinking into his side. The agony radiates out from where the blood starts to seep through his shirt.

As soon as Bello is there, he’s gone, pulled off of him by the incompetent cops that let him get that close in the first place. He is replaced by Charlie and her deeply concerned expression.

“Mikey, Mike, you’re okay, just hold on,” she says as she presses down on his injury. The pressure sends more waves of pain across his nerves. Mike’s vision darkens at the edges and he chokes down another scream. “Where’s the goddamn medic?!”

He doesn’t lie on the floor for too long. A medic came and stitched him back together to keep him from bleeding out. She tells Charlie that he should go to the hospital so they can make sure everything is okay. At that point, the extra blood loss combined with the painkiller the medic encouraged him to take has Mike drifting off. At least it doesn’t hurt.

The gurney isn’t he softest thing he’s laid on but at least it isn’t the cold floor of the prison. Plus, now that he’s been made, he doesn’t have to stay in prison anymore. As he’s dozing off, Charlie comes to hover over him again. Mike feels a dopey smile cross his face.

“Hey, Chucky.” His tongue feels too thick, and his body feels far away. Then he frowns. “Odin didn’t come. M’sorry.”

“No, no he didn't,” Charlie sighs, “He wasn't...that wasn't the plan...whatever, it doesn't matter. I’m sorry, baby. I put you here. Now you’re all loopy.”

Mike smiles again. “Loopy,” he repeats, laughing.

“At least they’ve got you on the good stuff. How about we go to the hospital to make sure you’re okay and then go back home so you can properly rest?”

He can’t help but pout. Maybe if he tries to give her puppy dog eyes she’ll let him go straight home. “M’tired. Can’t we just go back home now? I feel a-okay.” To prove it, he tries to give her some dazzling jazz hands. In reality, all he can do is shake his hands around like limp noodles. The movement is somehow enough to send a vague ache shooting down his side. He winces, winded. “See?”

Charlie looks worried again. “No can do, baby boy. I promise it’ll be quick but we have to make sure Bello didn’t mess anything up.” Gently, she pokes the side sans stab wound. Mike, caught by surprise and safely cocooned in the painkillers, giggles. He can’t help it, he’s ticklish. Charlie’s expression lightens up when he does and then she grins down at him. “I didn’t know you were ticklish. Hold on,” she pulls her phone out of her back pocket, “Say hi to everyone.”

“Hi,” Mike says, dragging it out and doing his best to wave at the camera.

Charlie pokes him in the side again, and he giggles again, blissfully unaware of the little chime her phone gives as she sends the video into the Graceland group chat.

* * *

The ride to the hospital is uneventful. Mike is comfortable thanks to the painkillers that Marta, the medic, gave him. Charlie glances over at him from time to time. A knot of guilt is stuck in her stomach. If she hadn’t pushed Mike to go in, this wouldn’t have happened. The only thing that eases her guilt is when she looks over and sees Mike sleeping soundly in the passenger seat.

She feels bad that she has to wake him up when they get to the hospital. She’s leaning over him, already having gotten out of the car, one hand cupping his cheek. Charlie calls his name a couple of times before his eyelashes flutter and he’s looking up at her blearily.

Mike rubs his eyes and yawns, looks around, and then pouts. She can tell he doesn’t want to be here but is thankful when he just sighs and lets her help him out of the car. With one arm wrapped securely around his waist, the two of them make their way through the hospital doors. Charlie fills out his information the best that she can. At least his wallet had come in the bag of personal items the prison had handed off to them so that she could get his insurance down.

While they wait, Mike rests his head on her shoulder. He mumbles something about the waiting room chairs being too uncomfortable. The bright side is that this gives her more time to document Mike when he’s a relaxed goofball.

Charlie whips her phone out again. There are about thirty messages from the group chat, all because of that thirty second video she had sent of Mike being all giggly. She sees that everyone has saved the video and is clamoring for more installments.

Instead of trying to embarrass Mike some more, Charlie decides to send a selfie. Mike throws up a wobbly peace sign when he sees the camera. She snaps the picture and sends it to the chat. Mike buries his face deeper in her shoulder. Charlie takes that as a very needy sign that he wants affection.

Charlie brushes one hand through his soft brown hair and uses the other to inform the others about the situation. One she tells them that they’re at the hospital and that it shouldn’t be long before they can go back to Graceland, she opens the selfie again. It’s a good picture. Her heart melts at the sight of Mike. He’s sleepy, with his eyes half-open and glassy. He’s got a big, crooked grin on his face, half-smushed into Charlie’s shoulder. She can’t help it – she turns and presses a kiss into Mike’s hair. He hums quietly. Then, a nurse comes out of a set of double doors and calls his name.

When the nurse, whose tag reads Joseph, sees that Mike is mostly passed out on Charlie, he comes over to them. “Are you with Mr.Warren?”

“Yeah, could you give me a hand? He can walk, he’ll just need a whole lot of help.”

Joseph nods and says, “I’ll take the left, you take the right, and we’ll both be very careful. Sound good, Mr.Warren?”

Mike says _mmph_ and apparently calls it a day on actually talking. At least Charlie can answer the nurse’s questions. The three of them carefully and slowly make their way to an examination room. Joseph puts on some gloves and palpates Mike’s abdomen and then does an ultrasound to check for fluid. Charlie holds Mike’s hand in hers and does her best to keep him calm when he complains about being touched. She rakes her eyes over the laceration, stained red from the blood, with the black stitches standing out.

Joseph leans back in his chair when he’s satisfied. “Everything looks good. The worst of it was the blood loss from his stitches being pulled. There are no internal injuries. You’re free to go home and rest up.”

Charlie thanks the nurse. He grabs a wheelchair for them, which Mike isn’t happy about but Charlie sure is. Though he has a lean figure, Mike is packing some muscle and that means he isn’t exactly light. Plus, with the lack of coordination, it’s a miracle that Charlie didn’t drop him on the way into the hospital.

Mike conks out as soon as he’s seated in the car. When Charlie pulls into the driveway, she calls Briggs so that he can help get Mike inside.

By the time Briggs appears in the driveway, Charlie has coaxed Mike out of the car to lean heavily against it. Relief washes over her when she finally spots him. Though he looks worried, Paul smiles when he sees the two of them. He jogs over and pulls them into a quick hug.

“Hey, Levi. How are you feeling?”

“Tired.”

“Alright then how about we get you inside quick?” Without waiting for a response, Paul scoops Mike up into his arms. He’s careful but quick and gentle enough that Mike doesn’t fight him. 

“Mmm.” Mike’s head lolls into Paul’s shoulder. “Fine,” he says petulantly and slurring heavily, “Just get me to the couch.” Then he pats Paul’s head.

Again, Charlie snaps a quick picture, this time grinning from ear to ear. She sends it in the chat as they make their way into the house. Inside, Johnny and Paige are chatting in the living room. When they see Paul with Mike in his arms, they stand and come to meet them.

“How is he?” Paige looks at Paul and Charlie.

“He is fine,” Mike breathes out. “Puh med’n,” he mutters.

“Bro, I have no idea what you just said,” Johnny laughs.

“Put. Me. Down.” Any ounce of threat in his voice is undermined by how comfortable he looks. He doesn’t even move his head from Paul’s shoulder.

Paul sets him down on the nearest couch. Mike cuddles into the pillows. Charlie goes to sit with him while Johnny sits on the other couch. Paige goes upstairs and returns with a blanket.

“I’m sorry, babe. I shouldn’t have put you in there.”

Without opening his eyes, Mike says, “S’fine. Shh. Don’ worry.” He reaches out blindly for her hand. Once he finds it, he squeezes once, weakly, and then his face slackens. His breathing evens out.

Charlie sighs and ever so slowly retracts her hand. Paige takes the opportunity to drape the blanket over Mike and tuck him in. Then she grins and races back upstairs. She returns yet again, this time with a stuffed animal in her hands. Paige sets the little brown bear right where Mike’s open palm is. After a moment, Mike squeezes it to his chest in his sleep.

“Oh, God,” Johnny whispers, “This is too much.” It looks like he’s simultaneously going to burst out in cackles and melt into the floor. Charlie can’t help but feel the same. It’s cute and hilarious, but if she’s being honest, it’s mostly cute.

In unison, the four of them take their phones out and snap a picture. All four pictures are sent into the group chat.

Mike cuddles his bear a little closer.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't really want to put Paige in here because I honestly hate her so much. Season 1 she was just fine but now I'm on season 2 and boy howdy. But I gave up and just put her in here. Anyways, here's my [tumblr](https://james-writes-occasionally.tumblr.com/) for updates, or if you want to request a story, or just chat about fandoms!


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